Device-adjacent ambiently displayed image

ABSTRACT

Telecommunication devices each having projection apparatuses capable of projecting ambiently displayed images at locations proximate to the telecommunication devices on surfaces that are substantially parallel to planes formed by the telecommunication devices are described herein. The telecommunication devices also have logic configured to provide predistorted images to the projection apparatuses, the predistorted images appearing without distortion when projected by the projection apparatuses on the surfaces in the ambiently displayed images.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/856,311 entitled “Utilization of Interactive Device-AdjacentAmbiently Displayed Images” filed Aug. 13, 2010.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, telecommunication devices have evolved from offeringtheir users basic telephony services to offering a wide range ofcommunication, data, and other services. For example, telecommunicationdevices now offer telephony, text messaging, email, calendaring,contacts, user locations, maps, time, cameras, calculators, and Internetbrowsing. To enable users to interact with these many new features,telecommunication devices have also added input controls, includingtouch-sensitive display screens. Touch-sensitive display screens arevery useful, as they can be reconfigured by telecommunication devicesoftware to offer varying controls in different modes and contexts.These display screens also present users with difficulties, however.Telecommunication device users often do not want to use thetouch-sensitive display screens because they do not want to make thedisplay screens dirty or because they do not want to scratch the displayscreens.

In addition, telecommunication devices are also capable of beingconnected to a number of peripheral devices offering further inputcontrols. For example, telecommunication devices can be connected tokeyboards, mice, etc. Telecommunication devices can also be connected toperipheral projector units. These projector units, which are typicallylarger than the telecommunication devices they connect to, are designedto be placed on a surface and to project an image or other content on awall that is oblique to the surface or, depending on configuration ofthe optics of the projector, on the surface itself. Projection on thesurface, however, requires that the projector unit be locatedsufficiently distant from the surface. Such distances are oftencommensurate with the height of the projection unit, which usuallyexceeds the largest dimension of the telecommunication device.Projection on the surface by an adjacent projector unit typicallyresults in substantial image degradation, including keystoning andblurring of the projected content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingfigures, in which the left-most digit of a reference number identifiesthe figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of thesame reference numbers in different figures indicates similar oridentical items or features.

FIGS. 1 a-1 b show an overview of a telecommunication device that iscapable of projecting an ambiently displayed image adjacent to thetelecommunication device, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows images and the ambiently displayed images projected basedon those images, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of operations performed by a telecommunicationdevice to generate a predistorted image, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of components of an exampletelecommunication device, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 5 a-5 b show component diagrams of the components of projectionapparatuses of a telecommunication device, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIGS. 6 a-6 b show component diagrams of interaction sensing components,in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 7 a-7 c show flowcharts of operations performed by atelecommunication device to project an ambiently displayed image, detectinteraction with the ambiently displayed image, and perform an actionbased on the interaction, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows a sequence of ambiently displayed images associated with anincoming call that are updated based on interactions with previousambiently displayed images, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 9 shows a sequence of ambiently displayed images associated with areceived message that are updated based on interactions with previousambiently displayed images, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of operations of a telecommunication device toswitch between display modes of the telecommunication device, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 11 shows ambiently displayed images based on telecommunicationdevice display modes, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of operations of a telecommunication device togenerate and project an ambiently displayed image as an extension ofcontent shown on a telecommunication device display screen, inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 13 shows an ambiently displayed image serving as an extendeddisplay of a telecommunication device, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 14 shows a telecommunication device equipped with multipleprojection apparatuses capable of projecting a first ambiently displayedimage and a second ambiently displayed image.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure discusses a telecommunication device equipped with aprojection apparatus that is capable of projecting an ambientlydisplayed image at a location proximate to the telecommunication deviceon a surface that is substantially parallel to a plane formed by thebody of the telecommunication device. The projection apparatus is aninternal component located at one end of the telecommunication deviceand includes both a display component and an optical component. In oneimplementation, the display component includes one or more liquidcrystal displays (LCDs) and light sources and the optical componentcomprises one or more lenses. Such lenses may comprise, for example, atotal internal reflection prism and optional one or more opticallypowered surfaces. The optical component is capable of projecting theambiently displayed image at an angle that is oblique to an angle atwhich the optical component receives light from the display component.As used herein, the term “ambiently displayed image” refers to lightprojected at the location proximate to the telecommunication device onthe substantially parallel surface. While referred to as an image, it isto be understood that the ambiently displayed image may include any oneor more images, textual representations, videos, or other graphics.

The telecommunications device further includes logic configured toprovide a predistorted image to the projection apparatus. If theprojection apparatus projects the original image in an ambientlydisplayed image, that original image will appear in a distorted shape,such as a trapezoidal shape. The telecommunication device thuspredistorts the original image so that, when projected by the projectionapparatus in an ambiently displayed image, the image appears withoutdistortion. In various implementations, the predistorted image isgenerated from the original, starting image by the telecommunicationdevice or by another device based on parameter(s) or algorithm(s).

In some implementations, the telecommunication device is furtherequipped with one or more interaction components capable of detectinginteraction with the ambiently displayed image. The interactioncomponents include, for example, a camera, one or more sensors, such asinfrared sensors, or any combination of an emitter and detector. In oneimplementation, the interaction component(s) are affixed to baffles ofthe projection apparatus or some other component of the projectionapparatus. In other implementations, the sensors or cameras may bemounted or attached to any part of the telecommunication device 102,internal or external. Each interaction component may be associated withan interaction zone, each interaction zone corresponding to all or apart of the ambiently displayed image.

Also, as mentioned, the display component may comprise a plurality ofdisplay components, such as a plurality of LCDs, and the opticalcomponent may comprise a plurality of optical components, such as aplurality of lenses. In such an implementation, the logic is configuredto divide an image that is to be projected in the ambiently displayedimage into a number of parts corresponding to the number of displaycomponent and optical component pairs and to predistort each part. Whenthe predistorted parts are projected by the projection apparatus in anambiently displayed image, then, the parts appear as a single imagewithout distortion. Also, to separate the light from the multipledisplays, the projection apparatus includes the above-mentioned baffles,the baffles being placed between the display components and the opticalcomponents, ensuring that each optical component receives light from asingle display component.

The disclosure also discusses techniques for utilizing the ambientlydisplayed image. In various implementations, these techniques includeprojecting, by the telecommunication device, the ambiently displayedimage on the surface proximate to the telecommunication device,detecting interaction with the ambiently displayed image, and performingan action based on the detected interaction. The interaction includes,for example, tapping, swiping, multi-tap, double tap, press-and-hold, ormultiple-finger-press motions and the action includes answering orterminating a call, adjusting volume, reading a message, or accepting acalendar appointment. The ambiently displayed images projected in suchtechniques include user interface controls, graphics, text, videos,images, screen savers, icons, graphic representations of sound,branding, or visual indicators such as visual ringtones, alerts, ornotifications and may be associated with an alarm clock, a calendar,telephony, text messaging, email, voicemail, a timer, content renderedon a display screen of the telecommunication device, a voice recorder, amusic player, missed calls, social networking, applicationnotifications, or location information. In some implementations, theprojecting of the ambiently displayed image is performed in response toreceiving an incoming call or a message.

In various implementations, the techniques further include displayingcontent through different displays based on telecommunication devicedisplay modes and detecting interactions switching the display mode. Ina first display mode, the telecommunication device displays content onboth a display screen of the telecommunication device and in theambiently displayed image. In a second display mode, thetelecommunication device displays content only in the ambientlydisplayed image. Interactions switching the display mode include, forexample, flipping the phone so that the display screen either faces“down” towards a surface on which the telecommunication device rests or“up” away from the surface.

In some implementations, the techniques include generating the contentof the ambiently displayed image as an extension of content displayed ona display screen of the telecommunication device. For example, a userinterface displayed on the display screen is divided by thetelecommunication device such that some of its components are displayedon the display screen and others in the ambiently displayed image. Also,in some implementations, the content of the ambiently displayed imageprovides additional details or information associated with an itemdisplayed on the display screen.

OVERVIEW

FIGS. 1 a-1 b show an overview of a telecommunication device that iscapable of projecting an ambiently displayed image adjacent to thetelecommunication device, in accordance with various embodiments. Asshown in FIG. 1 a, a telecommunication device 102 is capable of bothprojecting an ambiently displayed image 104 and of displaying content106 on a display screen of the telecommunication device 102. FIG. 1 billustrates a surface 108 on which the telecommunication device 102rests and a projection apparatus 110 of the telecommunication device 102that is capable of projecting the ambiently displayed image 104 on thesurface 108. As further shown in FIG. 1 b, the projection apparatus 110includes an optical component 112 and a display component 114.

In various embodiments, the telecommunication device 102 may be any sortof electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop,a gaming device, or a media player. The telecommunication device 102 mayfurther connect to a wireless network, such as a network provided by atelecommunication service provider. Such networks include cellulartelecommunications networks, Internet-Protocol-based telecommunicationsnetworks (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol networks), traditionallandline or POTS networks, or combinations of the foregoing (e.g.,Unlicensed Mobile Access or UMA networks). The telecommunication device102 may communicate with the network to place and receive calls, to sendand receive messages, to browse data content, and to perform any othersort of communication with another device, be it telecommunicationdevice or server, known in the art. In other implementations, thetelecommunication device 102 may not connect to any network.

The telecommunication device 102 includes both a display screen fordisplaying content 106 and the projection apparatus 110. Thetelecommunication device 102 may further include other components aswell. An example telecommunication device 102 having such othercomponents is illustrated in FIG. 4 and described in greater detailbelow.

In various implementations, ambiently displayed image 104 depicts anysort of combination of images, videos, text, or user interface controland may be associated with a component or feature of thetelecommunication device 102, such as an alarm clock, a calendar,telephony, text messaging, email, voicemail, a timer, content renderedon a display screen of the telecommunication device, a voice recorder, amusic player, missed calls, social networking, applicationnotifications, or location information. Further, the ambiently displayedimage 104 may be associated with the content 106 displayed on thedisplay screen of the telecommunication device 102, or may be entirelyindependent of the content 106. In one implementation, the content ofthe ambiently displayed image 104 is an extension of the content 106.

In some implementations, the image or content depicted in the ambientlydisplayed image 104 may be distorted from a starting image to counteractand account for distortion of that image/content caused by itsprojection. Such distorted images (referred to herein as “predistorted”images due to the distorting of the starting image prior to projection)and their generation are described in FIGS. 2 and 3 and are describedfurther herein with reference to those figures.

The ambiently displayed image 104 may be displayed in response to anevent, such as a received call or message, or may simply be “on” anddisplaying content. In some implementations, the telecommunicationdevice 102 has display modes, some or all of which include projectingthe ambiently displayed image 104. For example, in one display mode,content is projected using the ambiently displayed image 104 alone,while in another mode, content is projected using the ambientlydisplayed image 104 and using a display screen of the telecommunicationdevice 104. In other display modes, the ambiently displayed image may beturned “off.” Display mode switching may be affected by interaction withthe telecommunication device 102, such as through actuation of a controlor movement of the telecommunication device 102.

In various implementations, the ambiently displayed image 104 isinteractive. The telecommunication device 102 is equipped with one ormore interaction components, such as a camera, sensors, or emitter anddetector that capture touch interaction with the surface 108 atlocations where the ambiently displayed image 104 is projected. Theseinteraction components enable the ambiently displayed image 104 to be“touch-sensitive,” doubling as both a display and an input mechanism.The interaction components are illustrated in FIG. 6 and are describedbelow with reference to that figure.

As shown in both FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, the location of the ambientlydisplayed image 104 is adjacent to the telecommunication device 102 onthe surface 108. Also, the ambiently displayed image 104 is proximate toan edge of the telecommunication device. In one implementation, an“edge” of the ambiently displayed image 104 (edge as perceived by aviewer) is within ten to twenty millimeters of an edge of thetelecommunication device 102. The ambiently displayed image 104 is alsoprojected so that it will appear correctly when projected on a surfacethat is substantially parallel to a plane formed by the body of thetelecommunication device 102. For example, the ambiently displayed image104 appears properly in FIGS. 1 a-1 b because the ambiently displayedimage 104 is projected onto surface 108 and surface 108 is parallel to aplane formed by the body of telecommunication device 102. Such assurface 108 may be a horizontal surface, such as a table, a verticalsurface such as a wall, or any sort of surface. By projecting theambiently displayed image in this manner, it appears as an extension ofthe telecommunication device 102, enabling the user to easily see boththe telecommunication device 102 and the ambiently displayed image 104at the same time.

Referring now to FIG. 1 b, the ambiently displayed image 104 is shown asbeing projected by a projection apparatus 110 comprised of opticalcomponent 112 and display component 114. As mentioned, the projectionapparatus 110 is internal to the telecommunication device 102 and islocated at an edge of the telecommunication device 102. For example, asshown in FIGS. 1 a-1 b, the projection apparatus 110 may be locatedinside the “top” of the telecommunication device 102 (“top” when thetelecommunication device 102 is viewed by a user holding thetelecommunication device 102 with its display screen facing the user).The projection apparatus 110 may be located anywhere within thetelecommunication device 102, however. In various implementations, theprojection apparatus 110 is separated from the exterior of thetelecommunication device 102 by a transparent or semi-transparent coverthrough which the ambiently displayed image 104 is projected. In otherimplementations, the optical component 112 forms part of the exterior ofthe telecommunication device 102.

The optical component 112 comprises one or more lenses of varying forms,such as total internal reflection prisms with optional one or moreoptically powered surfaces. Specific examples of such lenses includeprisms, hemispheres, half-spheres, any other sort of three dimensionalform, and any sort of combination of these forms. The lenses arefabricated from any one or more kinds of material known in the art thatare used to create lenses, such as injection molded plastic. The lensesof the optical component 112 are further designed to be capable ofprojecting the ambiently displayed image 104 on the surface 108 at thelocation proximate to the telecommunication device 102. The shape,number, and placement of the lenses is dictated by the angle at whichlight is received from the display component 114, the position of thedisplay component 114 relative to the optical component 112, thelocation of the projection apparatus 110 within the telecommunicationdevice 102, and the intended location of the ambiently displayed image104.

The display component 114 includes at least a light source and a meansof forming the light emitted from the light source into some sort ofimage, video, text, etc. In various implementations, this means includesone or more LCDs of any sort known in the art and the light sourceincludes one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) placed behind theLCDs. The LEDs cause the LCDs to emit light that forms the ambientlydisplayed image 104. As is known in the art, LCDs may project light inthe form of images measured in pixels. The LCDs selected for the displaycomponent 114 may have any known pixel dimension. For example, thedisplay component 114 may have LCDs with a maximum possible number ofpixels for the size of the LCDs in order to project as high quality ofan ambiently displayed image 104 as possible. In some implementations, afilm is employed between the light source and image forming means inorder to make better use of the light emitted by the light source.

In addition to the optical component 112 and display component 114, theprojection apparatus 110 may include other components. For example, theprojection apparatus 110 may include a baffles located between thedisplay component 114 and optical component 112 in order to separate thelight emitted by each part of the display component 114 (e.g., each LCD)from the light emitted by other parts. The baffles, the opticalcomponent 112, and the display component 114 are further illustrated inFIGS. 5 and 6 and are described below in detail with reference to thosefigures.

Predistorted Images

FIG. 2 shows images and the ambiently displayed images 104 projectingthose images, in accordance with various embodiments. In FIG. 2, image202 has a generally rectangular shape of the sort a user might seerendered on the display screen of telecommunication device 102. Whenthis image 202 is projected by the telecommunication device 102 in anambiently displayed image 104, however, it appears trapezoidal in shape.This distortion of shape is known as keystoning. Keystoning is caused byprojection of an image onto a surface that is oblique with respect tooptical components projecting the image. Returning to FIG. 1 b, thesurface 108 is shown as being oblique with respect to the opticalcomponent 112 that is projecting the ambiently displayed image 104.Because the surface 108 is oblique, light must travel farther to hit thesurface 108 for some parts of the ambiently displayed image 104. Andbecause the light comprising ambiently displayed image 104 hitting thesurface 108 has traveled different distances, parts of the ambientlydisplayed image 104 have different sizes. Parts having traveled fartherhave larger sizes than parts traveling a shorter distance. The result ofthis dynamic is the creation of an ambiently displayed image 104 that issubstantially trapezoidal in shape. The measurements and angles of thisresulting trapezoidal ambiently displayed image 104 are a function ofboth the measurements of the image 202 and of the angle of the surface108 with respect to the optical component 112.

Also shown in FIG. 2, a second image 204 is a distorted version of image202 having a substantially trapezoidal shape. This image 204(“predistorted image 204”) is described throughout this disclosure as“predistorted” because the image 204 has received its substantiallytrapezoidal shape prior to being provided to the projection apparatus110. In other implementations, the predistorted image 204 has asubstantially hyperbolic shape, a substantially pin cushion shape, asubstantially elliptical shape, or any combination of shapes. When thispredistorted image 204 is projected by the telecommunication device 102in an ambiently displayed image 104, it appears without distortion orsubstantially without distortion in a rectilinear shape. The reason thatthe ambiently displayed image 104 of predistorted image 204 appearswithout any keystoning or distortion is that the light which must travelfarther to the surface 108 bears a smaller dimensioned part of thepredistorted image 204 than the light which travels a shorter distanceto the surface 108. In other words, the dimensions of the predistortedimage 204 counteract the keystoning effect of being projected onto anoblique-angled surface, resulting in an ambiently displayed image 104that appears both roughly the same as the starting image 202 and thesame as if the plane of the surface 108 were substantially parallel to aplane approximating the projecting surface of the optical component 112.

In some implementations, the predistorted image 204 may account forother sorts of distortion. For example, the optical component 112 may behemispherical in shape and may thus cause a middle part of the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to appear “smaller” and the outer parts of theambiently displayed image 104 to appear “larger.” Again, this is becausethe light constituting the middle part travels a shorter distance from ahemispherical optical component 112 than light constituting the outerparts. To account for this, the predistorted image 204 may be a versionof the starting image 202 distorted so that the middle part of thepredistorted image 204 appears larger than outer parts. In variousimplementations, the predistorted image 204 is distorted to account forboth the shape of the optical components 112 and to account forkeystoning.

The generating and providing of the predistorted image 204 areillustrated in FIG. 3, which shows a flow diagram of operations. In theflow diagram, the operations are summarized in individual blocks. Theoperations may be performed in hardware, or as processor-executableinstructions, or logic (software or firmware) that may be executed byone or more processors. Such logic is illustrated in FIG. 4 andmentioned below with reference to that figure.

At block 302, the starting image 202 to be predistorted is received bythe telecommunication device 102. This image 202 may be received fromanother computing device via the above-described network or may bereceived from a local application. For example, the image 202 could bean image captured by a camera of the telecommunication device 102. Theimage 202 could also be an image retrieved from an image library.

At block 304, the telecommunication device 102 predistorts the image 202based on at least one of algorithm(s) or parameter(s). The algorithms orparameters may have been selected based on features of the opticalcomponent 112, the location of the projection apparatus 110 within thetelecommunication device 102, an estimated location of the ambientlydisplayed image 104 on the surface 108 and an estimated angle of thesurface 108 with respect to the optical component 112. Based on thesemetrics and data, the algorithms or parameters are tuned or selectedsuch that the resulting algorithms or parameters, when applied to theimage 202, result in the generation of the predistorted image 204. Suchalgorithms or parameters thereby account for the distortion imagesundergo when projected by the projection component 110.

In various implementations, the receiving and predistorting of blocks302 and 304 may instead be performed by another computing device and itsresulting predistorted images 204 may then be provided to thetelecommunication device 102. In one implementation, some or all of thepredistorted images 204 used by the telecommunication device 102 may bepre-loaded on the telecommunication device 102.

Also, some or all of the predistorted images 204 may be stored forsubsequent retrieval, as some or all of the predistorted images 204 maybe frequently reused.

In some implementations, before predistorting the image 202 at block304, the telecommunication device may divide the image 202 into a numberof parts, the number corresponding to a number of image forming means orlight sources comprising the display component. For example, if thedisplay component comprises four LCDs, the telecommunication device 102may divide the image 202 into four parts. Predistorted images 204 foreach part are then generated at block 304, and these predistorted images204, when projected, form a single image 202 in the ambiently displayedimage 104 without distortion.

At block 306, the telecommunication device provides the predistortedimage or images 204 to the projection apparatus 110 for display asambiently displayed image 104. In some implementations, this providingmay include invoking an interface or device driver of the projectionapparatus 110.

Example Device

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of components of an exampletelecommunication device 102, in accordance with various embodiments. Asshown, the telecommunication device 102 may include a memory 402, thememory storing logic 404. The telecommunication device 102 furtherincludes the projection apparatus 110, processor(s) 406, interfaces 408,a display screen 410, transceivers 412, output devices 414, inputdevices 416, and drive unit 418 including a machine readable medium 420.

In various embodiments, memory 402 generally includes both volatilememory and non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory,miniature hard drive, memory card, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium).Additionally, in some embodiments, memory 402 includes a SIM (subscriberidentity module) card, which is a removable memory card used to identifya user of the telecommunication device 102 to a service providernetwork. Memory 402 can also be described as computer storage media andmay include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data.

The logic 404 stored in memory 402 is configured to perform a number ofthe operations described herein. Logic 404 may be configured to performthe operations illustrated in FIG. 3 to generate and provide apredistorted image as well as some or all of the operations illustratedin FIG. 7 to project an ambiently displayed image, detect interactionwith the ambiently displayed image, and perform an action based on theinteraction; some or all of the operations illustrated in FIG. 10 todetect interaction and affect a display mode switch; and some or all ofthe operations illustrated in FIG. 12 to generate the ambientlydisplayed image as an extension of content 106 displayed on the displayscreen 410. The Logic 404 comprises computer-executable instructions tobe read by the processor 406 to perform these operations. Theseinstructions may comprise any one or more modules, applications,processes, or threads and may be stored entirely or partially in memory402.

The projection apparatus 110 is also shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 and isdescribed herein in detail with reference to those figures.

In some embodiments, the processor(s) 406 is a central processing unit(CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both CPU and GPU, or otherprocessing unit or component known in the art.

In various embodiments, the interfaces 408 are any sort of interfacesknown in the art. Interfaces 408 include any one or more of an Ethernetinterface, wireless LAN interface, a near field interface, a DECTchipset, or an interface for an RJ-11 or RJ-45 port. The a wireless LANinterface can include a Wi-Fi interface or a Wi-Max interface, or aBluetooth interface that performs the function of transmitting andreceiving wireless communications using, for example, the IEEE 802.11,802.16 and/or 802.20 standards. For instance, the telecommunicationdevice 102 can use a Wi-Fi interface to communicate directly with anearby device. The near field interface can include a Bluetooth®interface or RFID for transmitting and receiving near field radiocommunications via a near field antenna. For example, the near fieldinterface may be used for functions, as is known in the art, such ascommunicating directly with nearby devices that are also, for instance,Bluetooth® or RFID enabled. A reader/interrogator may be incorporatedinto telecommunication device 102.

In various embodiments, the display screen 410 is a liquid crystaldisplay or any other type of display screen commonly used intelecommunication devices. For example, display screen 410 may be atouch-sensitive display screen, and can then also act as an input deviceor keypad, such as for providing a soft-key keyboard, navigationbuttons, or the like. The display screen 406 may, in someimplementations, be capable of rendering the content 106 described ingreater detail herein.

In some embodiments, the transceivers 412 include any sort oftransceivers known in the art. For example, transceivers 412 may includea radio transceiver and interface that performs the function oftransmitting and receiving radio frequency communications via anantenna. The radio interface facilitates wireless connectivity betweenthe telecommunication device 102 and various cell towers, base stationsand/or access points.

In some embodiments, the output devices 414 include any sort of outputdevices, such as a display screen (already described as display screen410), a projector apparatus for projecting an ambiently displayed image(already described as projector apparatus 110), speakers, a vibratingmechanism, or a tactile feedback mechanism. Output devices 414 alsoinclude ports for one or more peripheral devices, such as headphones,peripheral speakers, or a peripheral display.

In various embodiments, input devices 416 include any sort of inputdevices. For example, input devices 416 may include a microphone, akeyboard/keypad, a touch-sensitive display screen (such as thetouch-sensitive display screen described above), or an interactiveambiently displayed image (described in greater detail above and belowwith respect to ambiently displayed image 104). A keyboard/keypad may bea push button numeric dialing pad (such as on a typicaltelecommunication device), a multi-key keyboard (such as a conventionalQWERTY keyboard), or one or more other types of keys or buttons, and mayalso include a joystick-like controller and/or designated navigationbuttons, or the like.

The machine readable medium 420 stores one or more sets of instructions(e.g., software) embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions may also reside, completelyor at least partially, within the memory 402 and within the processor406 during execution thereof by the telecommunication device 102. Thememory 402 and the processor 406 also may constitute machine readablemedia 420.

Example Projection Apparatuses

FIGS. 5 a-5 b show component diagrams of the components of projectionapparatuses of a telecommunication device, in accordance with variousembodiments. As shown in FIGS. 5 a-5 b, the projection apparatus 110includes a plurality of optical components 112 coupled to a plurality ofdisplay components 114 by a baffles 502. The display components 114 inturn multiple LCDs 504, a film or films 506, and multiple light sources508. In FIG. 5 a, the optical components 112 are a plurality ofhalf-sphere lenses. In FIG. 5 b, the optical components 112 are aplurality of lenses, each lens including a triangular prism 510 and ahemispherical part 512. The projection apparatus 110 may be coupled toother components of the telecommunication device 102, such as theprocessor 406, by any number of means known in the art.

In both FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, the optical components 112 are lenses, suchas a total internal reflection prisms with optional one or moreoptically powered surfaces. In various implementations, such lensescomprise a micro lens array fabricated from injected molded plastic. Anadvantage of using multiple lenses is that more light emitted from thedisplay components 114 is captured and projected in the ambientlydisplayed image 104. In other implementations, other materials andnumbers of lenses may be used. As shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, the lensescomprising the optical components 112 are parallel with respect to eachother rather than in sequence. Because the lenses are parallel, they donot emit and receive light from each other as a set of lenses insequence would. In some implementation, lenses in sequence may be usedinstead of or in addition to the micro lens array. Such lenses insequence may receive light from and emit light to each other. Forexample, a first lens may receive light emitted from a display component114 and in turn emit the light to a second lens in sequence, the secondlens then emitting the ambiently displayed image 104. Lenses in sequencemay create an optical component 112 with a larger overall size, however,then a micro lens array as shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b.

In FIG. 5 a, each optical component 112/lens of the micro lens array isa half-sphere. Half-sphere lenses have a relatively smaller size,enabling the lenses to easily fit within the telecommunication device102. Such lenses perform internal reflection of the light received fromthe display components 114 such that the light is omitted by each lensat an angle that is oblique with respect to an angle at which the lightwas received.

In FIG. 5 b, each optical component 112/lens has a triangular prism 510and a hemispherical part 512. The triangular prism 510 and hemisphericalpart may form one integrated whole rather than discrete parts. In fact,the lenses collectively may form an integrated whole (e.g., one form ofmolded plastic) rather than discrete parts. Each triangular prism may bea total internal reflection prism. Each lens having the triangular prism510 and hemispherical part 512 perform internal reflection of the lightreceived from the display component 114 such that the light is emittedby the hemispherical part 512 at an angle that is oblique with respectto an angle at which the light was received by the triangular prism 510.

In various implementations, the baffles 502 illustrated in FIGS. 5 a and5 b are also made of molded plastic as a single integrated piece. Thebaffles are shaped so as to fit on one side against the opticalcomponents 112 and on the other against the display components 114. Thebaffles 502 may fit flush against one or both of the components 112 and114 or may be proximate to one or both of the components 112 and 114.The baffles 502 may include one aperture for each optical component112/LCD 504 pair. For example, if the projection apparatus 110 includesfour LCDs 504 and four optical components 112, the baffles 502 mayinclude four apertures. Such apertures may have a circular or ovularshape, a square or rectangular shape, or any other sort of shape. Inother implementations, the baffles 502 may have any other sort of shapeor aperture so long as the baffles 502 separates the light emitted fromthe multiple LCDs 504 from each other.

As further shown in FIGS. 5 a-5 b, the display component 114 includesmultiple LCDs 504 in an array parallel to that of the optical components112. Each LCD 504 may be any size or have any number of pixels. In oneimplementation, each LCD 504 has a five millimeter by five millimetersize corresponding to a sixteen pixel by sixteen pixel display. The sizeof the collective LCDs 504 may be a function of a desired size of theambiently displayed image 104. For example, if the ambiently displayedimage 104 is to have a certain size, and the ambiently displayed image104 is magnified such that it is twice as large as the collective LCDs504, the LCDs 504 are selected in accordance with the magnification anddesired ambiently displayed image 104 size. The LCDs 504 may bemonochromatic or multi-colored, with each LCD 504 having the same colorcapabilities or with some LCDs 504 being monochromatic while others aremulti-colored. In various implementations, the baffles 502 and opticalcomponents 112 use only a part of each LCD 504, such as seventy-five toeighty percent of the display capacity of each LCD 504. For example, ifthe LCDs 504 are square and the baffles 502 has circular apertures, somelight emitted from the LCDs 504 will not pass through the apertures ofthe baffles 502. In some implementations, the LCDs 504 may also berelatively power efficient, such as more power efficient than thedisplay screen 410 of the telecommunication device 102. In otherimplementations, the telecommunication device 102 may utilize staticimage templates in the display component 114 in place of the LCDs 504.The static image templates would simply impose a filter on the lightemitted from the light source 508, thereby creating a shape where thelight is blocked.

In various implementations, the display component 114 includes anoptional film 506 between the LCDs 504 and the light sources 508. Thefilm may be any sort of light refracting material known in the art. Forexample, the film 506 may have high light collection efficiency by meansof recycling the received light. This recycling is achieved by internalrefraction of the light received from the light sources 508. Recyclingof light may be desirable when the display component 114 includes LCDs504 since LCDs with polarizers use only half the light ordinarilyemitted by the light sources 508.

The light sources 508 shown in FIGS. 5 a-5 b may be a single source 508illuminating the multiple LCDs 504 or may comprise a plurality of lightsources 508 corresponding to the multiple LCDs 504. In someimplementations, the light sources 508 may be an LED or LEDs, such as athree color LED or LEDs. The luminous intensity of each LED may bebetween five hundred milli-candelas (mcd) and twenty-two hundred mcd percolor. Also, in some implementations, the light sources 508 are capableof modulating brightness, enabling the brightness of the light sources508 to be customized based on a desired brightness of the ambientlydisplayed image 104.

Example Interaction Components

FIGS. 6 a-6 b show component diagrams of interaction sensing components,in accordance with various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 6 a, one ormore sensors 602 are equipped to a baffles 502 of the projectionapparatus 110 of the telecommunication device 102. These sensors 602monitor interaction zones 604 associated with the ambiently displayedimage 104 to detect interaction with the ambiently displayed image 104.FIG. 6 b illustrates an alternative implementation where a camera 606affixed to a cover of the telecommunication device 102 captures imagesof interaction with the ambiently displayed image 104. In otherimplementations, both sensors 602 and the camera 606 or anyemitter-detector combination are used.

In various implementations, the sensors 602 may be any sort of sensorsknown in the art. For example, the sensors 602 may be infrared sensorsemitting invisible infrared light and detecting any interaction with orblocking of the emitted light. Any number of such sensors 602 may beused. As shown in FIG. 6 a, two sensors 602 are used to create twointeraction zones 604. These sensors are affixed to the baffles 502 atlocations between the optical components 112. These locations preventthe parts of the projection apparatus 110 from blocking the sensors 602and prevent the sensors 602 from blocking the ambiently displayed image104. In other implementations, the sensors 602 are affixed to otherlocations.

The interaction zones 604 are created by the emission of infrared lightby the sensors 602 or by some other mechanism. When a user interactswith that infrared light or other mechanism creating the interactionzones 604, the sensors 602 detect the interaction. In variousimplementations, the interaction zones 604 each comprise a half of theambiently displayed image 104, allowing the ambiently displayed image104 to have two user-interactive controls, such as the “Accept” and“Ignore” buttons depicted in FIG. 1 a. In other implementations, othernumbers of sensors 602 and corresponding interaction zones 604 enablethe ambiently displayed image 104 to provide a different number ofuser-interactive controls. While FIG. 6 a depicts the interactions zones604 as each encompassing half of the ambiently displayed image 104, eachinteraction zone 604 may extend beyond the boundaries of the ambientlydisplayed image 104 in one or more directions.

FIG. 6 b shows the use of a camera 606 affixed to the cover of thetelecommunication device 102. The camera 606 may be configured tocapture images of the ambiently displayed image 104 on somepredetermined time basis while the ambiently displayed image 104 isbeing rendered. These images are then provided to logic, such as logic404, to determine whether a user has interacted with the ambientlydisplayed image 104. In other implementations, rather than takingpictures on a predetermined time basis, the telecommunication device 102is equipped with both camera 606 and a sensor 602. The sensor 602detects interaction with some part of the ambiently displayed image 104and the camera 606 takes a picture of the ambiently displayed image 104.With a camera 606, the entire ambiently displayed image 104 may beconsidered a single interaction zone 604. The logic of thetelecommunication device 102 is then responsible for determining thepart of the ambiently displayed image 104 that has been interacted withfrom the captured images.

Interactions with the Ambiently Displayed Image

FIG. 7 a shows a flowchart of operations performed by atelecommunication device 102 to project an ambiently displayed image104, detect interaction with the ambiently displayed image 104, andperform an action based on the interaction, in accordance with variousembodiments. FIGS. 7 b and 7 c show specific examples of the operationsof FIG. 7 a performed in the context of an incoming call or a receivedmessage, respectively. In the flow diagrams, the operations aresummarized in individual blocks. The operations may be performed inhardware, or as processor-executable instructions, or logic (software orfirmware) that may be executed by one or more processors. Such logic isillustrated in FIG. 4 and mentioned above with reference to that figure.

As shown in FIG. 7 a at block 702, the telecommunication device 102first turns on the ambiently displayed image 104 in response to a userinteraction with the telecommunication device 102. For example, thetelecommunication device 102 may be equipped with a hard key locatedsomewhere on the telecommunication device 102 or a soft key displayed onthe display screen 410 of the telecommunication device 102. The hard keyor soft key cause the ambiently displayed image 104 to be turned on oroff when pressed. In other embodiments, the telecommunication device 102utilizes another mechanism for turning on or off the ambiently displayedimage 104. For example, the telecommunication device 102 may have agyroscope that senses a motion, such as shaking, or a change inposition, allowing the users to shake or move the telecommunicationdevice 102 in some manner to turn on or off the ambiently displayedimage 104.

In other implementations, the ambiently displayed image 104 is always onor is turned on or off in response to commands received from thetelecommunication device platform or applications. For example, as shownin FIGS. 7 b and 7 c, the telecommunication device 102 may be turned onin response to receiving a call or message. After the call or message,in some implementations, the ambiently displayed image 104 is thenturned back off.

In yet other implementations, both user interaction and commands from aplatform or application are able to turn the ambiently displayed image104 on or off. Also, in one implementation, the user may interact withthe telecommunication device 102 to turn the ambiently displayed image104 on, resulting in first content being projected in the ambientlydisplayed image 104, and then the telecommunication device 102 mayreceive an incoming call, causing the ambiently displayed image 104 tobe “turned on again” or updated, resulting in second content beingprojected in the ambiently displayed image 104.

At block 704, the telecommunication device 102 generates a predistortedimage or predistorted version of other content to be depicted in theambiently displayed image 104. The generation of the predistortedimage/content is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and is described abovewith reference to those figures. As mentioned above, the image/contentof the ambiently displayed image 104 are predistorted to account fordistortions experienced by the image/content when projected by theprojection apparatus 110 on the surface 108 in the ambiently displayedimage 104.

At block 706, the telecommunication device 102 projects the ambientlydisplayed image 104 proximate to the telecommunication device 102 on thesurface 108, the surface 108 being substantially parallel to a planeformed by the body of the telecommunication device 102. The location ofthe ambiently displayed image 104 and the projection apparatus 110 usedin projecting the ambiently displayed image 104 are described above withreference to FIGS. 1 a-1 b and 5. The appearance of the ambientlydisplayed image 104 when projected may also vary based on thecharacteristics of the surface that the ambiently displayed image 104 isprojected on.

In various implementations, the content of the ambiently displayed image104 includes at least one of user interface controls, graphics, text,videos, images, screen savers, icons, graphic representations of sound,branding, or visual indicators such as visual ringtones, alerts, ornotifications. The choice of user interface controls, graphics, text,videos, images, screen savers, icons, graphic representations of sound,branding, visual indicators such as visual ringtones, alerts, ornotifications, or of some combination of two or more may vary based onan application or feature context of the telecommunication device 102 oron user interaction context determined by user interactions with theambiently displayed image 104. In some implementations, the ambientlydisplayed image 104 projected at block 707 is associated with anapplication or feature such as an alarm clock, a calendar, telephony,text messaging, email, voicemail, a timer, content rendered on a displayscreen of the telecommunication device, a voice recorder, a musicplayer, missed calls, social networking, application notifications, orlocation information. The telecommunication device application orfeature associated with the projected ambiently displayed image 104 maybe a function of an execution context of the telecommunication device102. For instance, if an email application is active on thetelecommunication device 102, the ambiently displayed image 104 maydepict a preview of a most recently received message. In otherimplementations, the content of the ambiently displayed image 104 may bea function of a user interaction context, such as user interaction witha pre-determined menu of options depicted in the ambiently displayedimage 104. For example, when the ambiently displayed image 104 is firstturned on, a horizontally-scrollable menu of options may be presented tothe user. The horizontal scrolling may occur automatically or may occurin response to a user interaction with the ambiently displayed image104, such as a scrolling action.

In further implementations, the ambiently displayed image 104 projectedat block 706 is an extension of a user interface displayed on a displayscreen 410 of the telecommunication device 102, part of the userinterface being displayed on the display screen 410 and part beingdisplayed in the ambiently displayed image 104. For example, if the userinterface would not fit on the display screen 410, a number of the userinterface components that will not fit may instead be depicted in theambiently displayed image 104.

At block 708, the image or content depicted in the ambiently displayedimage 104 remains the same while the images or content depicted on thedisplay screen 410 of the telecommunication device 102 changes. Forexample, the ambiently displayed image 104 may provide the user with amenu of options, such as a call option and a message option, that aredisplayed regardless of what is displayed on the display screen 410.Thus, a user may browse the Internet on the display screen 410, go backto a main menu shown on the display screen 410, then check thetemperature user a temperature application, and the ambiently displayedimage 104 may show the show the same options during each of these viewsand interactions.

At block 710, an interaction component of the telecommunication device102, such as the sensors 602 or camera 606 discussed above, detectinteraction with the ambiently displayed image 104. In variousimplementations, the interaction may be any sort of touch motion. Forexample, the user may press on a part of the ambiently displayed image104 or make a swiping motion across the ambiently displayed image 104.The pressed part of the ambiently displayed image may be in aninteraction zone 604, as discussed above. A swiping motion might crossmultiple interactions zones, indicating an intended action other than apress. For example, if the ambiently displayed image 104 depicts ascrollable list of menu options, a swiping motion crossing multipleinteraction zones 604 may be interpreted as a desire to see differentmenu options and may cause the ambiently displayed image 104 to beupdated with different menu options. A pressing motion in a singleinteraction zone 604, however, may be interpreted by thetelecommunication device 102 as a selection of a menu option depicted inthat interaction zone 604 of the ambiently displayed image 104. In otherimplementations, rather than touch interaction, the user can speak aselection and a speech recognition component of the telecommunicationdevice 102 or of another device may interpret the speech and associateit with part of the ambiently displayed image 104. For example, if theambiently displayed image 104 shows “Accept” and “Ignore” options andthe user speaks “Accept”, the telecommunication device 102 treats thespeech that same as it would treat a press of the “Accept” option.

At block 712, the telecommunication device 102 performs an action basedon the detected user interaction with the ambiently displayed image 104.Such actions could include answering or terminating a call, adjustingvolume, reading a message, accepting a calendar appointment, or anyother sort of action that the telecommunication device 102 is capable ofperforming. In some implementations, in addition to performing theaction, the telecommunication device 102 may also update the ambientlydisplayed image 104 with new images/content. For example, if theambiently displayed image 104 showed a calendar application menu optionthat was selected by the user, the telecommunication device 102 wouldinvoke in response that calendar application, causing it to have userinterfaces of the calendar application displayed on display screen 410.The telecommunication device 102 would also update the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to show a different set of options, such as “NewAppt” and “Today's Appts” (“Appt” is short for appointment).

At block 714, the ambiently displayed image 104 is turned off inresponse to a user interaction with the telecommunication device 102.Interactions such as key presses, shaking, and movements are discussedabove at block 702 as ways to turn the ambiently displayed image 104 on.In some implementations, the same mechanism can be used to turn theambiently displayed image 104 on and off. In other implementations,different mechanisms may be used.

In FIG. 7 b, a flowchart of operations involving ambiently displayedimage 104 that are performed in response to receiving an incoming callis shown, in accordance with various embodiments. To better illustratethe operations shown in FIG. 7 b, example ambiently displayed images 104and the sequence of those ambiently displayed images 104 are illustratedin FIG. 8. The discussion of FIG. 8 is included with the discussion ofFIG. 7 b.

At block 716, the telecommunication device 102 receives an incomingcall. The incoming call may be received via any sort of network such asa cellular network or wireless data network.

At block 718, the telecommunication device 102 projects in the ambientlydisplayed image 104 a set of options enabling the user to answer orignore the incoming call. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, thetelecommunication device 102 may project an “Answer” option 802 and an“Ignore” option 804 in the ambiently displayed image 104. At the sametime, the telecommunication device 102 may display on the display screen410 other information about the incoming call, such as the incomingcaller's name and phone number 106. If the user selects the “Ignore”option 804 by, e.g., pressing on “Ignore” 804, the incoming call is notanswered and is either terminated or sent to voicemail based on servicecapabilities and user preferences.

At block 720, the telecommunication device 102 detects a userinteraction with “Answer” 802. Such an interaction could includepressing on “Answer” 802 or speaking “answer”, as described above.

At block 722, the telecommunication device 102 updates the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to show at least a volume option enabling the userto be provided with controls for adjusting the volume of the speakerprojecting the voice of the conversation partner in the voice call. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 8, the updated ambiently displayed image 104includes both a “Volume” option 806 and an “End” option 808 for endingthe voice call. In various implementations, simultaneously with updatingthe ambiently displayed image 104, the telecommunication device 102answers the voice call. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, the content 106displayed on the display screen 106 may now include a timer showing aduration for the voice call. In some implementations, if the useranswers the call by pressing “Answer” 802, the telecommunication device102 automatically answers the call in speaker phone mode. The mode thatthe call is answered in, however, may be determined in accordance withuser settings. If the user selects the “End” option 808 by, e.g.,pressing on “End” 808, the incoming call is ended and is optionally sentto voicemail based on service capabilities and user preferences.

At block 724, the telecommunication device 102 detects a userinteraction with “Volume” 806. Such an interaction could includepressing on “Volume” 806 or speaking “volume”, as described above.

At block 726, the telecommunication device 102 updates the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to show higher and lower volume options or a barrepresenting a volume spectrum, enabling the user to increase ordecrease the volume of the speaker projecting the voice of theconversation partner in the voice call. For example, as shown in FIG. 8,the updated ambiently displayed image 104 includes both a “Higher”option 810 and a “Lower” option 812 for increasing and decreasing thevolume, respectively. A user may repeatedly press on either to changethe volume. In other implementations, rather than “Higher” 810 and“Lower” 812, the ambiently displayed image 104 may depict a barrepresenting volume, with one end of the bar representing a maximumvolume and the other representing a minimum volume. The user can changethe volume by interacting with the bar by swiping along it in onedirection or the other or by pressing a location on the bar.

At block 728, the telecommunication device 102 determines that the callhas ended. The telecommunication device 102 may determine this inresponse to the user hanging up or the user's conversation partnerhanging up. Referring again to FIG. 8, the ambiently displayed image 104may automatically revert to presenting “Volume” 806 and “End” 808 if theuser has not interacted with “Higher” 810 and “Lower” 812 in apredetermined period of time. The user may then select “End” 808 toterminate the call.

At block 730, the telecommunication device 102 updates the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to show a “Next” option. The “Next” option mayenable the user to, for example, see a menu of options for the ambientlydisplayed image 104, such as the scrollable menus described in greaterdetail above.

In FIG. 7 c, a flowchart of operations involving ambiently displayedimage 104 that are performed in response to receiving a message isshown, in accordance with various embodiments. To better illustrate theoperations shown in FIG. 7 c, example ambiently displayed images 104 andthe sequence of those ambiently displayed images 104 are illustrated inFIG. 9. The discussion of FIG. 9 is included with the discussion of FIG.7 c.

At block 732, the telecommunication device 102 receives a message, suchas a text message or email. The message may be received via any sort ofnetwork such as a cellular network or wireless data network.

At block 734, the telecommunication device 102 projects in the ambientlydisplayed image 104 an option enabling the user to read the message. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 9, the telecommunication device 102 mayproject content 902 in the ambiently displayed image 104, the content902 including a representation of a message (e.g., message icon) and thename of the person that the message is from. Content 902 both conveysinformation and serves as a user-selectable control.

At block 736, the telecommunication device 102 detects a userinteraction with content 902. Such an interaction could include pressingon content 902 or speaking “read message” or some other verbal command,as described above.

At block 738, the telecommunication device 102 updates the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to display the message. The message is displayed allat once or in a scrolling fashion if the message will not fit in theambiently displayed image 104. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, theupdated ambiently displayed image 104 includes as content 904 a fragmentof the message reading “The real culprit is.” In variousimplementations, once the ambiently displayed image 104 begins displayof the message, it continues until the complete message has beendisplayed.

At block 740, the telecommunication device 102 updates the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to display a “Replay” option. For example, as shownin FIG. 9, the updated ambiently displayed image 104 includes as content906 an icon graphically depicting the replay option as well as the term“Replay.” The telecommunication device 102 may automatically transitionto showing content 906 after the completion of displaying the message.If the user then interacts with content 906, the message is replayed inan updated ambiently displayed image 104 again depicting the message. Ifthe user does not interact with content 906 within a predetermined time,then the telecommunication device 102 instead updates the ambientlydisplayed image 104 to show a “Next” option. The “Next” option mayenable the user to, for example, see a menu of options for the ambientlydisplayed image 104, such as the scrollable menus described in greaterdetail above.

Display Modes

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of operations of a telecommunication device102 to switch between display modes of the telecommunication device 102,in accordance with various embodiments. To better illustrate theoperations shown in FIG. 10, example ambiently displayed images 104shown in different display modes are illustrated in FIG. 11. Thediscussion of FIG. 11 is included with the discussion of FIG. 10. Theoperations may be performed in hardware, or as processor-executableinstructions, or logic (software or firmware) that may be executed byone or more processors. Such logic is illustrated in FIG. 4 andmentioned above with reference to that figure. At block 1002, thetelecommunication device 102 operates in a first display mode,displaying content on both the display screen 410 and in the ambientlydisplayed image 104. For example, in FIG. 11, the telecommunicationdevice 102 displays content 1102 in the ambiently displayed image 104,the content 1102 including the name of a message sender and a messageicon, and content 106 on the display screen 410, the content 106including the text of a received message. In various implementations,the first display mode may be a default display mode. In otherimplementations, it may be one of a number of available display modesselected based on a telecommunication device position or context or aplatform or application context of the telecommunication device 102. Forexample, the first display mode may be defaulted to if the displayscreen 410 of the telecommunication device 102 is facing “up”, or awayfrom the surface 108 that the telecommunication device 102 is restingon, and a second display mode may be defaulted to if the display screen410 is facing “down” and in contact with the surface 108 that thetelecommunication device 102 is resting on. In the second display mode,content may be displayed only in the ambiently displayed image 104 andnot on the display screen 410. As another example, the platform of thetelecommunication device 102 may dynamically select a display mode basedon the amount and size of the content to be displayed. If all thecontent to be displayed can be viewed from the ambiently displayed image104, the platform of the telecommunication device 102 may cause thetelecommunication device 102 to switch to an ambient-display-only mode,such as the above mentioned second display mode. The platform may dothis in order to save power as the ambiently displayed image 104 mayconsume less power than the display screen 410. In furtherimplementations, the telecommunication device 102 may operate in adisplay-screen-only mode or no-display mode. The telecommunicationdevice 102 may default to the no-display mode at certain times of theday (e.g., when a user might be sleeping) and may default to thedisplay-screen-only mode based on telecommunication deviceposition/context or platform/application context. For example, if theuser is engaged in a voice call and is not using the speaker phone mode,the telecommunication device 102 may default to a display-screen-onlymode or a no-display mode, as the context would indicate that the userhas the telecommunication device 102 to his or her ear and is unable toview the ambiently displayed image 104.

At block 1004, the telecommunication device 102 detects interactionaffecting a display mode switch. For example, the telecommunicationdevice 102 may be equipped with a key located somewhere on thetelecommunication device 102. The display mode of the telecommunicationdevice 102 is switched when the key is pressed. In other embodiments,the telecommunication device 102 utilizes another mechanism forswitching the display mode. For example, the telecommunication device102 may have a gyroscope that senses a motion, such as shaking, or achange in position, allowing the users to shake or move thetelecommunication device 102 in some manner to switch the display mode.In one implementation, mentioned above, the display mode is switched byflipping the telecommunication device so that the display screen 410faces either towards or away from the surface 108. In someimplementations, the telecommunication device 102 has four displaymodes, such as the both-displays, ambient-display-only,display-screen-only, and no-display modes described above. Thetelecommunication device 102 may detect an interaction that cyclesthrough these modes in a predetermined order. Alternatively, thetelecommunication device 102 may have one mechanism for turning on anoff the ambiently displayed image 104 and another for turning on and offthe display screen 410. The combinations of the states of thesemechanisms may constitute the display modes.

In various implementations, the telecommunication device 102 switchesthe display mode in response to a command from a platform or applicationof the telecommunication device 102. Such a command may be providedindependently of any detected interaction and may thus allow thetelecommunication device 102 to switch display modes without providing amechanism enabling the user to switch modes or without requiring theuser to make use of a provided mechanism. Examples of the platform or anapplication causing a display mode switch are described above at block1002 with respect to defaulting to one display mode or another.

At block 1006, the telecommunication device 102 operates in theabove-described second display mode, displaying content only in theambiently displayed image 104. For example, in FIG. 11, thetelecommunication device 102 displays content 1104 in the ambientlydisplayed image 104, the content 1104 including all or a part of thereceived message that was displayed on the display screen 410 in thefirst display mode, and does not display anything on display screen 410.As can be seen in FIG. 11, the display screen 410 of telecommunicationdevice 102 may be facing downwards towards the surface 108 while in thesecond display mode. Alternatively, the display screen 410 may be facingupwards but still be turned off while the telecommunication device 102is in the second display mode.

Extended Display

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of operations of a telecommunication device102 to generate and project an ambiently displayed image 104 as anextension of content 106 shown on a telecommunication device displayscreen 410, in accordance with various embodiments. To better illustratethe operations shown in FIG. 12, an example ambiently displayed image104 projected as an extension of content 106 is illustrated in FIG. 13.The discussion of FIG. 13 is included with the discussion of FIG. 12.The operations may be performed in hardware, or as processor-executableinstructions, or logic (software or firmware) that may be executed byone or more processors. Such logic is illustrated in FIG. 4 andmentioned above with reference to that figure.

At block 1202, the telecommunication device 102 determines userinterface components and content to display on the display screen 410and components and content to display in the ambiently displayed image104. For example, in FIG. 13, the telecommunication device 102 mayreceive periodic updates of financial information, such as stock marketupdates. The telecommunication device 102 may determine that aselectable icon 1302 representing an option to see the receivedinformation will be displayed on the display screen 410 and maydetermine that the received information is to be displayed as content1304 in the ambiently displayed image 104. In various implementations,these determinations are made based on hierarchical relationshipsbetween the content to be displayed in the different displays. Forexample, higher level information or graphics may be displayed on thedisplay screen 410 and more detailed information may be displayed in theambiently displayed image 104. In other implementations, one of thedisplay screen 410 or ambiently displayed image 104 may be used as anoverflow for the other when the user interface components or contentwill not fit completely in one of these. For instance, if the userinterface includes more icons than can be displayed on display screen410, the ambiently displayed image 104 may function as an extension ofthe display screen 410, displaying the icons that cannot be displayed onthe display screen 410.

At block 1204, the telecommunication device 102 detects interaction withthe display screen 410. Referring to FIG. 13, the telecommunicationdevice 102 may detect a user selection of the icon 1302 representing theoption to see financial information. In some implementations, thetelecommunication device 102 may detect the interaction through thedisplay screen 410, which may be touch-sensitive.

At block 1206, the telecommunication device 102 projects and displaysuser interface components or content in the ambiently displayed image104. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the telecommunication device 102may project in ambiently displayed image 104 as content 1304 thereceived financial information mentioned above. Such information mayinclude an index, such as the DOW Jones industrial average, the changeto that index for the day, and the percentage change. In addition toprojecting the content 1304 in the ambiently displayed image 104, thetelecommunication device 102 may update the icon 1302 displayed on thedisplay screen 410 to indicate that the icon 1302 has been selected andthat the content 1304 in the ambiently displayed image 104 is related tothe icon 1302. Such an update may include a change in the color of theicon 1302 or highlighting or shadowing of the icon 1302. In variousimplementations, the telecommunication device 102 may project content1304 in the ambiently displayed image 104 for a predetermined amount oftime or until the user interacts with the content displayed on thedisplay screen 410 to select a different icon or to select icon 1302 asecond time. Such a second interaction with icon 1302 may be theequivalent of choosing to “turn off” the ambiently displayed image 104of content 1304 associated with the icon 1302.

Multiple Ambiently Displayed Images

FIG. 14 shows a telecommunication device 102 equipped with multipleprojection apparatuses 110 capable of projecting a first ambientlydisplayed image 1402 and a second ambiently displayed image 1404. Theseprojection apparatuses 110 may be located at any edge or edges of thetelecommunication device 102 and internally to the telecommunicationdevice 102.

In some implementations, the first and second ambiently displayed images1402 and 1404 are oriented to be viewed by different viewers. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 14, selectable options displayed in responseto an incoming call may be displayed in a first orientation in theambiently displayed image 1304 for viewing by a first user and the timeof day may be displayed in a second orientation in the ambientlydisplayed image 1302 to for viewing by a second user who is standingopposite the first user and facing the first user. In suchimplementations, the content of one ambiently displayed image, such asambiently displayed image 1404, may be “private” content intended forviewing only by the user of the telecommunication device 102 and thecontent of the other ambiently displayed image may be “public” contentfor viewing by other users. Also, in such implementations, the first andsecond ambiently displayed images 1402 and 1404 may both have associatedinteractions zones enabling users to interact with both the first andsecond ambiently displayed images 1402 and 1404. For example, the firstand second ambiently displayed images 1402 and 1404 may serve as userinterfaces for a game two users are playing against one another. In suchan example implementation, one user's interaction with that user'sambiently displayed image 1402/1404 may cause the ambiently displayedimage 1404/1404 displayed to the other user to be updated. In otherimplementations, the images or text of the first and second ambientlydisplayed images 1402 and 1404 may have the same orientation for viewingby the same user. In further implementations, two users may place theirtelecommunication devices 102 in proximity to each other, and theprojection apparatuses 110 of the telecommunication device 102 maycombine to render a single ambiently displayed image, in the mannerdescribed above.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather,the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms ofimplementing the claims.

We claim:
 1. A telecommunication device comprising: a processor; aprojection apparatus communicatively coupled to the processor andincluding a display component and an optical component, the displaycomponent and optical component capable of projecting an ambientlydisplayed image on a surface that is substantially immediately adjacentto the projection apparatus of the telecommunication device andsubstantially parallel to a plane formed by the telecommunication deviceand the surface; and logic configured to be operated by the processor toprovide a predistorted image to the projection apparatus, thepredistorted image appearing without distortion when projected by theprojection apparatus on the surface in the ambiently displayed image. 2.The telecommunication device of claim 1, further comprising aninteraction component configured to detect interaction with theambiently displayed image.
 3. The telecommunication device of claim 1,wherein the optical component comprises a lens, the lens including atotal internal reflection prism and one or more optically poweredsurfaces.
 4. The telecommunication device of claim 1, wherein thedisplay component comprises a liquid crystal display and a light source.5. The telecommunication device of claim 4, wherein the displaycomponent further comprises a film located between the light source andthe liquid crystal display, the film being capable of recycling light.6. The telecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the projectionapparatus is an internal component of the telecommunication devicelocated proximate to an edge of the telecommunication device.
 7. Thetelecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the logic is furtherconfigured to generate the predistorted image from a starting imagewithout distortion based on parameters that account for distortion ofthe starting image when projected by the projection apparatus on thesurface in the ambiently displayed image.
 8. The telecommunicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the predistorted image has a substantiallytrapezoidal shape, a substantially hyperbolic shape, a substantially pincushion shape, a substantially elliptical shape, or any combination ofshapes.
 9. The telecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the displaycomponent comprises a plurality of display components and the opticalcomponent comprises a corresponding plurality of lenses.
 10. Thetelecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the optical componentprojects the ambiently displayed image at an angle that is oblique to anangle at which light is received from the display component.
 11. Thetelecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the ambiently displayedimage depicts pictures, video, user interface elements, buttons,controls, visual indicators, or scrolling text.
 12. Thetelecommunication device of claim 1, further comprising a secondprojection apparatus coupled to the processor and including a seconddisplay component and a second optical component, the second displaycomponent and second optical component capable of projecting a secondambiently displayed image at a second location proximate to thetelecommunication device on the surface.
 13. A telecommunication devicecomprising: a processor; a projection apparatus communicatively coupledto the processor and including a display component and an opticalcomponent, the display component and optical component capable ofprojecting an ambiently displayed image on a surface that issubstantially immediately adjacent to the projection apparatus of thetelecommunication device and substantially parallel to a plane formed bythe telecommunication device and the surface; an interaction componentcommunicatively coupled to the processor and configured to detectinteraction with the ambiently displayed image; and logic configured tobe operated by the processor to provide a predistorted image to theprojection apparatus, the predistorted image appearing withoutdistortion when projected by the projection apparatus on the surface inthe ambiently displayed image, receive an indication that interactionwith the ambiently displayed image has been detected, and perform anaction based on the detected interaction.
 14. The telecommunicationdevice of claim 13, wherein the interaction component includes one ormore of a sensor a camera, or an emitter and detector.
 15. Thetelecommunication device of claim 13, wherein the interaction componentcomprises a plurality of interaction components mounted to baffles ofthe projection apparatus.
 16. The telecommunication device of claim 15,wherein each interaction component corresponds to an interaction zoneassociated with a part of the ambiently displayed image.
 17. Thetelecommunication device of claim 13, wherein the projection apparatusis an internal component of the telecommunication device locatedproximate to an edge of the telecommunication device.
 18. Thetelecommunication device of claim 13, wherein the ambiently displayedimage depicts pictures, video, user interface elements, buttons,controls, visual indicators, or scrolling text.
 19. A telecommunicationdevice comprising: a processor; a projection apparatus communicativelycoupled to the processor and including a plurality of display componentsand a corresponding plurality of optical components, the displaycomponents and optical components capable of projecting an ambientlydisplayed image on a surface that is substantially immediately adjacentproximate to the projection apparatus of the telecommunication device ona surface that and substantially parallel to a plane formed by thetelecommunication device and the surface; and logic configured to beoperated by the processor to provide a plurality of predistorted partsof an image to the projection apparatus, the predistorted parts of theimage appearing without distortion as a single ambiently displayed imagewhen projected by the projection apparatus on the surface in theambiently displayed image.
 20. The telecommunication device of claim 19,wherein the display components are coupled to baffles separating thelight emitted from each display component from light emitted from otherdisplay components.